


Age of Fish

by Liralen



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-08
Updated: 2012-05-08
Packaged: 2017-11-05 00:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/400105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liralen/pseuds/Liralen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared can think of a worse situation to discover he has mutant powers. A trip to the Field Museum with 30 of his senior AP History classmates is still pretty goddamn bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Age of Fish

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Men in Tights SPN-RPF Superhero meme, for the prompt: "Jensen develops his powers at an early age but Jared is a late bloomer and his powers manifest themselves violently during a high school field trip. Jensen risks his life to help him through it."

In retrospect, the Natural History Museum is not the _very_ worst place Jared's latent powers could have manifested. It _could_ have happened at his great aunt Mary's funeral when he was nine. That would have been pretty awkward. Everyone involved would have needed a lot of expensive therapy to get through that.  
  
So, yeah, Jared can think of a worse situation to discover he has mutant powers. A trip to the Field Museum with 30 of his senior AP History classmates, however, definitely takes a solid second.  
  
It doesn't happen right away. At least, no one notices right away. It starts off as an ordinary trip: 30 bored, noisy teenagers, two chatty chaperones, and their under-caffeinated teacher, Mr. Chisholm. They take the El downtown and Jared does this perfect waiting game to snag a seat right next to the new transfer student, Jensen Ackles, without looking like he's trying. He spends the half-hour ride sneaking looks at Jensen's reflection in the window and congratulating himself on his excellent stalking abilities.  
  
He makes a little small talk with Jensen at the beginning of the ride—he's not just a total creeper, okay—but Jensen's soft voice is difficult to pick out over the noise of the train, and after asking him to repeat himself for the fifth time Jared gives it up. The quiet that follows is comfortable, though, and when they finally reach their stop Jensen follows Jared off the train, and even shares a rarely-seen smile when Jared helps him figure out how to add fare to his ticket.  
  
If Jared were a 12 year old girl and kept a diary, today's entry up to this point would have a gold star next to it.  
  
They're in different groups during the orientation and the guided tour through the Ancient Greece exhibit they're here to see, which sucks. After they're released to grab lunch Jared hunts Jensen down, finding him in the café, and boldly asks him if he wants to spend their free exploration time together.  
  
"I've come to this museum every summer since I was six," Jared tells him, rocking forward on his toes. "I can show you all the awesome exhibits."  
  
Jensen's smile is slow, and partially at Jared's expense, but it lights up his already beautiful face and makes him glow. "That's perfect," he says. "I've never been here before, but I know a lot about prehistoric fossils. It's one of those things kids get obsessed with that I never really grew out of." He blushes faintly, the color creeping up his cheeks. Jared wonders if Jensen can actually see the hearts floating in his eyes.  
  
"Awesome!" Jared exclaims. "We're gonna make a great team. We're totally gonna kick everyone's asses."  
  
"I don't think it's really a competition," Jensen says, following Jared up one of the huge main staircases.  
  
"But if it WAS…" Jared leads.  
  
"Oh, we would definitely be the ones to win it, hands down," Jensen agrees, shaking his head but giving out another tiny smile. He needs to stop before Jared gives up all of his studies and track practice and devotes himself full-time to making Jensen Ackles smile at him.  
  
They hit the Evolving Planet wing first, and as soon as they step through the doors Jensen comes to life, speaking with more confidence than Jared has ever seen from him. He points out specimens and fills in background information as they walk along, narrating the rise from primordial ooze to the eventual journey onto land. Jared can almost see the prehistoric world around him, the lush green landscape and the vast oceans, teeming with life.  
  
"Oh, Panderichthys!" Jensen says excitedly, pointing out a display case holding a fish fossil about 2 feet long. "I just read an article a few weeks ago about this. It's a transitional species. If you look really closely at the ends of the fin structure, you can actually see the precursors to—what the hell."  
  
It takes Jared a moment to pull himself from his dreaminess. He could listen to Jensen be smart and geek out about fossils for hours; the way he talks brings the museum to life. Why can't their history teacher be like this? Aside from the fact that he's 72 and looks like an underfed Winston Churchill?  
  
"The precursors to what the hell? That doesn't sound very scientific," Jared jokes, then immediately hates himself for how utterly lame it sounds, but Jensen isn't paying attention.  
  
"That just—did you see that?" he asks, gaze glued to the display case.  
  
Jared leans over to get a closer view. "What am I looking for again? Fin bones?"  
  
"No, not—you didn't see it… It didn't move?"  
  
Jared almost laughs; he darts a quick glance at Jensen's face and thinks better of it. "Um," he hesitates. "No? Do they have a motor inside of it or something to show how it swam? That would be cool."  
  
"No. Sorry, never mind." Jensen waves him off, sounding disconcerted.  
  
They continue along the path, making their way through the Devonian Period fossils with their tiny trilobites and enormous fish, and Jensen still comments on a few, but he's more subdued now. There's a tense watchfulness to him as he leads Jared through the exhibit; a few times Jared catches him flinching, and once he stands next to a display case for so long that Jared has to double back and drag him along.  
  
"We're coming up to my favorite one," Jared says, elbowing Jensen lightly in the side. They round the corner and Jensen stops still, eyes rounding. Jared grins, pleased at the reaction. "Amazing, isn't it?"  
  
He doesn't have to look over his shoulder to know that that giant sloth is towering behind him, stretched up along the trunk of a fake tree until it stands nearly 20 feet tall. Its bony hand curves around the trunk, the sightless face tipped up toward the ceiling. Just the thought of it gives Jared a shiver.  
  
"Uh, Jared…" Jensen mumbles.  
  
"Can you even believe how freaking _huge_ that thing is?" Jared gushes. "The first time I saw it as a kid I cried and hid behind my dad. He had to pick me up and carry me to the exit because I wouldn't walk past it."  
  
"Jared—I think you—"  
  
"And they think it wasn't even a carnivore," Jared goes on, taking the opportunity to show off his own knowledge for Jensen. "Imagine how much plant stuff a thing that big has to eat to—"  
  
"JARED!" Jensen practically screams. Museum-goers nearby turn to stare.  
  
"What?" Jared asks, a little annoyed that Jensen interrupted. Is he not impressed with Jared's geekery?  
  
Jensen's hand displays the finest tremor as he points to something behind Jared's back. "Real slow," he murmurs, voice low and calm, "turn around and tell me if that thing is moving."  
  
Like he's in a movie, Jared can almost feel the world drop into slow-motion as he turns toward the giant sloth fossil. He prays that Jensen is hallucinating. As much as he really, really likes Jensen, this would be a good time for Jensen to turn out to be completely crazy.  
  
Jensen is not hallucinating. Jared has been to this museum 12 summers in a row. This is the first time the fossil's head has pointed down directly at him.  
  
"Oh, fuck," he murmurs, very softly, as the enormous sloth skeleton lowers itself to all four feet with a ground-shaking thud. "Holy fucking fuck."  
  
Screams erupt all around them as the museum's other patrons begin to scatter in panic, fleeing for their lives. Beneath their terrified voices Jared can hear the sound of breaking glass and the skitter of bone on the slate floor. He wonders how many more fossils are stirring, shaking off their long sleep and crawling from their cases.  
  
"Jared," someone says, from very close by. He can tell the person is shouting because he flinches instinctively, even though the sound of his name seems very small. "Jared, we've got to get out of here. What the fuck are you doing? Run!"  
  
Running sounds like a good idea. Jared's going to do that just as soon as he can make his body work again.  
  
The sloth shakes its head, bones creaking and metal joints grinding. It lifts one massive paw and sets it down with a loud crack, pulling its bulk along behind it as each leg moves independently to drag it a step closer. Despite himself, Jared's fascinated, watching it move. It's strangely graceful for a creature of such overwhelming size. Not to mention a creature that's been dead for about a million years.  
  
"God damn it," someone, presumably Jensen, growls, and suddenly Jared's being _lifted into the air_. His view of the oncoming sloth slips away and the floor swings into focus, and with a jolt, Jared realizes that Jensen has picked him up and slung him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.  
  
The sudden movement jars him from his catatonia, and in a moment he's writhing and flailing, trying to break free of Jensen's hold. "Motherfucker, put me down!" he yells, smacking Jensen's back.  
  
"Oh, sure, _now_ you're awake," Jensen snarls, shifting Jared's weight to settle more comfortably over his shoulder as he runs—no, _sprints_ for the staircase. He doesn't sound strained or at all out of breath. Jared stops squirming long enough to peer around Jensen's body, back the way they came, and he sees the sloth has found its stride, the deafening pound of its feet picking up speed.  
  
"Faster!" Jared yells, now spurring Jensen on.  
  
Jensen swears, putting on a fresh burst of speed before suddenly slowing. "What the hell are you doing?" Jared shrieks. "Keep running!"  
  
"The fucking stairs are blocked!" Jensen swears. His voice is hoarse from shouting, tight with fear. "Goddamn Dunkleosteus—nothing that big should have fucking armored scales—"  
  
"Jensen! FOCUS!"  
  
"Do you trust me?" Jensen asks suddenly.  
  
"Do I have a CHOICE?" Jared yells back.  
  
Dropping to a crouch, Jensen lowers Jared's feet to the floor, then quickly pulls him around into a hug, chest to chest. "Climb up and put your legs around me," he orders, staring into Jared's face. Jared wraps his arms around Jensen's neck and wraps his legs around the other boy's narrow waist, clinging tight. "Now duck your head, and whatever you do, don't let go!"  
  
Jared drops his head, pushing it against Jensen's chest, and Jensen takes off at a dead sprint like he doesn't even feel the extra burden of Jared's weight. They make it six or seven long strides before the world lurches and they're suddenly airborne, Jensen's body tightening and curling around Jared as they hurtle through the second-story window in an explosion of glass.  
  
They hit the grass hard, the impact softened by Jensen's body, but still enough to drive the air from Jared's lungs. He rolls away, coughing and gasping for breath.  
  
"You okay?" Jensen asks, hovering over him. "Jared! Are you okay?"  
  
"—fine, I'm fine," Jared chokes out. He pushes himself up, wrapping an arm around his chest and waving weakly in the direction of the museum. "The others, we've got to—"  
  
"They should be okay," Jensen cuts him off, glancing over his shoulder at the building. "I think we're far enough away. Maybe. But only if you're okay. You need to take deep, slow breaths for me, Jared. Can you do that?"  
  
The logic of that eludes Jared, but Jensen's looking at him with such a concerned, focused gaze, his tone so earnest, that Jared just nods and concentrates on breathing. He takes a deep breath in, coughs it out, then takes another, slow this time, forcing his heartbeat down.  
  
"Good, that's good." Jensen has a hand on his back, rubbing in soothing circles. "Nice and slow and calm. Very calm."  
  
"I don't feel fucking calm," Jared grumbles, but it's sort of a lie. His heart should still be going a million miles a minute, but Jensen's voice is low and grounding, his touch firm and relaxing. "Are you okay?" he asks belatedly. "God, I didn't even ask, are you—Jesus Christ."  
  
Jared stares, mouth hanging open, as he watches a long cut across Jensen's face slowly seal itself back up. There are scrapes and scratches all over Jensen's arms and shoulders, but even as he's cataloguing them they're starting to close up, right before his eyes. A jagged wound on Jensen's forearm knits together messily, leaving a dark, angry red scar. After another 10 seconds of silence even that has faded to a faint pink line.  
  
Jared wants to shout, but his voice is soft and worn as he asks, "What the hell is going on?"  
  
Jensen's quiet for a long moment. Jared squints at him against the sun, and Jensen's words are careful as he says, "That's never happened before?"  
  
"Uh, _no_ ," Jared says. "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that!"  
  
"Not just that," Jensen says, annoyed, gesturing at the museum. "I mean, nothing—nothing _like_ that? Nothing's ever, uh… I mean, maybe a dead bird, or even a plant or something—"  
  
"That has NEVER—"  
  
Jensen raises an eyebrow when Jared stops mid-sentence. "What?" he prods.  
  
"Well." Jared hesitates, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I mean. A few weeks ago, I guess, a bird flew into our front window and I thought it was dead, but when I picked it up it started flapping around and flew away. But it was just. It was stunned, I figured. Right? I mean, its neck was bent at this crazy angle, but it. It had to be…"  
  
"Jared," Jensen says slowly. "Have you ever had any pets?"  
  
"Just one cat."  
  
"Do you still have it?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"For how long?"  
  
"...since my older brother was born?" Jared offers in a tiny voice. "Oh my god. Oh my god, Mittens is 21 years old. That's not normal, right?"  
  
Mutely, Jensen shakes his head.  
  
"Oh my GOD," Jared panics. "Are you telling me my fucking cat is dead?"  
  
"I don't know!" Jensen yells back. "I don't know how it works, it's not my power!"  
  
Jared rocks back, stunned. Jensen looks sorry, but he doesn't say anything.  
  
"I'm a mutant," Jared whispers. He flicks his gaze up to Jensen. Jensen just tucks the corners of his mouth down into an unhappy little smile.  
  
"I can make dead things—come back. Reanimate them. Is that what this is?"  
  
"Looks like it," Jensen says.  
  
"Okay," Jared says, "okay." He blinks hard, shakes his head. "And you—you're—"  
  
"Yeah," Jensen answers quickly. "Super strength and accelerated healing."  
  
"How come you got the good powers?" Jared complains, startling Jensen into a laugh.  
  
"You just reanimated a bunch of fossils that were _millions_ of years old, Jared!"  
  
"I just wrecked the whole fucking museum. They're so never letting me back in."  
  
"Yeah, okay, maybe not," Jensen concedes, smile lingering around his mouth, and the sight of it makes Jared flush as warm as ever.  
  
"So, uh, I guess you know a lot about this stuff," he ventures, gesturing between himself and Jensen.  
  
"I know a good amount," Jensen acknowledges. "My powers came in when I was 12. I spent a few years at a special school, but I wanted to try my senior years at a regular high school. Have a little bit of a normal teenage experience, you know."  
  
"Sorry to ruin that for you," Jared jokes, self-deprecating. "So, this—these powers. Can they be controlled? Can I learn to control them?"  
  
"It's easier when they come in sooner, usually," Jensen tells him. "But yeah. If you work at it, you can learn to control them."  
  
"Can you teach me?"  
  
Jensen looks down, meeting his eyes, and Jared can read the warmth there, an answering heat pooling low in his stomach and up high, somewhere very near his heart.  
  
"Yeah," Jensen says, the hand on Jared's back sliding up to cup his neck, "yeah, I think I could do that."


End file.
